The KRCS- Global Fund Program Management Unit (KRCS- GFPMU) team held a Sub-Recipient Annual Review Meeting at the Boma Inn-Eldoret as part of its process to strengthen service delivery commitment to their beneficiaries.

The review meeting focused on reflections of Phase 2 implementation of the Grant and principals and approaches of the New Funding Model.

The program focuses on promoting efforts towards implementing HIV prevention, care and support for its key population beneficiaries within Kenya through the Round 10 Global Fund Grant as Principal Recipient.

The KRCS- Global Fund Program Management Unit (KRCS- GFPMU) team in collaboration with the KRCS Training School held a First Aid workshop for its staff, July 20 to 22nd at the KRCS Training School.

Participants from the KRCS- GFPMU had a three day Basic First-Aid Training by certified trainers from the KRCS Training School, which included basic theory and practice for a first responder to emergencies.

The team was impacted with insights to emergencies that are not limited to care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening but also how to respond to emergency situations.

The enactment of a new constitution which outlines a framework to alleviate poverty, with a focus on improving governance and addressing inequalities in health, education, and economic growth has seen counties engaging in innovative measure to strengthen the national health care system. It is with this focus that Kiambu County through its Governor Willam Kabogo launched the county’s Health Strategic Plan that seeks to promote access to health care. Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) under the Global Fund programme participated in the launch by showcasing activities being implemented across KRCS and its partners Zinduka Africa and United Disability Empowerment Kenya.

Activities set out to demonstrate the Society’s blood safety preparedness to be donor ready as well as blood donation in support of the beyond zero campaign. Presiding over the ceremony was her Excellency the First Lady Margaret Kenyatta who handed over a fully kitted mobile clinic as part of the Beyond Zero Campaign.

Kenya Red Cross Society- Global Fund program received an A1 rating from Global Funds’ Performance Ratings on grants management in the last reporting period. Every few months, the Global Fund assigns each grant a rating that measures the performance of that grant over the past few month. To achieve maximum impact, the Global Fund uses a performance-based funding system, which allows it to sustain and accelerate the gains in the fight against the three diseases. These ratings are A1 (“Exceeds expectations”), A2 (“Meets expectations”), B1 (“Adequate”), B2 (“Inadequate but potential demonstrated”) or C (“Unacceptable”). The Global Fund’s system of performance-based funding was developed to ensure that money is spent on delivering services directly to the men, women and children living with the diseases. At the same time, it provides a platform for countries to demonstrate that they can convert financing into results. And results – proven performance – are critical to raising funding from donors.

Performance-based funding ensures accountability, efficiency and effectiveness. We thank all our stakeholders for their continuous efforts to ensure that people at risk or living with HIV in Kenya are able to access Global Fund resources in order to access HIV testing and counseling, treatment, care and support including previously excluded key populations.

On Wednesday 21st May 2015, Kenya Country Coordination Mechanism (KCM) as part of their core governance function of oversight, visited the country’s non-state, Civil Society Principal Recipient Kenya Red Cross- Global Fund Management Unit. The visit’s objective was to certify that implementation of Global Fund grants is undertaken as planned and that any issues and/or bottlenecks are identified and resolved. Global Fund’s evaluation of program performance is based on results and outcomes, thus the core principle of oversight is to ensure that resources – financial and human – are used efficiently and effectively for the benefit of the country.

This oversight plan has been developed to enable KCM carry out its oversight function in a well-organized, transparent and documented manner that involves a broad range of stakeholders, including its members and non-members. It provides a strategic framework for effective oversight of Principal Recipients by KCM to facilitate successful grant performance. “We appreciate the efforts the Government of Kenya is undertaking in order to have these engagements. This activity adds value to the grants”, said Abshiro Halake, the Deputy Secretary General- Special Programs of KRCS. Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) was recently re-appointed as the Principal Recipient for the non-state actors for under the New Funding Model alongside AMREF and the Ministry of Finance which is the handling the State component of the Country’s grant.

Through the Global Fund program we have integrated HIV care into community health workers' role. We work closely with #CHWs through our Sub Recipients to help patients overcome hurdles to health care by accompanying patients through treatment, leading education campaigns, and empowering community members to take charge of their own health. As members of the communities they serve, CHWs establish relationships of trust with their patients, bridging the gap between the clinic and the community. Every day, these health workers visit patients in their homes to supervise treatment, ensuring they take their medications regularly and correctly.

Home visits create a means for ongoing support for social stigma, lack of information, discrimination as these are major barriers to medical care in poor communities. Each CHW is responsible for 20 people living with #HIV, a cohort that the CHW visits once every month to provide home based care services based on the Government of Kenya guidelines.

HIV is the leading cause of death among women of reproductive age, empowerment of women to access female condoms is therefore essential. In Kenya, ignorance about the use and complicated nature of female condoms are some of the reasons why women are reluctant to buy and use them. Female condoms help reduce the risk of many sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. Through our Global Fund Program we ensure high quality condoms are freely widely available, as this is fundamental to a pragmatic and effective AIDS response.

Injecting drug use is increasing HIV rates in Kenya through needle sharing and flash blood techniques. Evidence shows that HIV transmission among people who inject drugs can be avoided by adopting a package of proven HIV prevention measures. One of the key harm reduction interventions in people who use drugs is the Needle syringe program. Needle and syringe programmes (NSPs) are a type of harm reduction initiative that provide clean needles and syringes to people who inject drugs (PWID).